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RE: Yamaha Clarinets - Part II

Author: paul
Date: 1999-09-23 19:04

(continued from posting above)

So, I selected the Yamaha intermediate horn.

If the Allegro model has undercut toneholes and has all of the other apparently very good quality workmanship and playability of my YCL-52 of a few years ago, you might just get a horn that is every bit the match for a Buffet E-11 and all the other very good intermediate clarinets on the market.

Now, take that horn (or any of the competitive horns) and put a good mouthpiece/ligature/reed setup on top, and you will have an excellent combination of playability, intonation, tone production, and a high degree of forgiveness for student and intermediate levels of expertise.

If you can get a chance, test play the Allegro versus other competitive horns like I did and find out for yourself if the horn is competitive in both quality and price. I believe that you will be very happy with your decision if you select the Allegro.

Oh, did I mention that I sold the Yamaha YCL-52 after about 2 years of playing it (of course, sold as a used horn) for a higher than expected price? It took some work, but I fetched more than the market "average" for the horn. So, don't let the other brand names dazzle you with pure name recognition. A good horn will stand on its own merit. A semipro level local tutor test played my Yamaha YCL-52 and had several clients lined up to buy it at my price in cash. Apparently, the horn was a very good one, even if it was a lesser known brand intermediate grade clarinet.

So, here is the bottom line analysis from someone who's "been there and done that". IMHO, Yamaha clarinets have just as much potential of being very good to great horns (class by class, of course) for any of the other major brands of student, intermediate, and pro grade clarinets.

If the brand of the horn doesn't make that much of a difference to you (and it really shouldn't with today's high quality horns from any of the major brands), test play all of the horns you want, and let the chips fall where they may.

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